Kirkland & Ellis LLP

Richard H. Cunningham’s practice focuses on antitrust and consumer protection law. Rich has extensive experience securing clearance for deals from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Department of Justice (DOJ), navigating FTC and DOJ investigations, and representing clients in government, competitor, and class action litigation involving antitrust and/or consumer protection claims.

Rich began his legal career at the FTC, serving as a Staff Attorney and then as Senior Trial Counsel in the Bureau of Competition. At the FTC, Rich was a senior member of multiple litigation/trial teams, including in FTC v. OSF Healthcare System, FTC v. ProMedica, FTC v. LabCorp, and FTC v. Inova Health System, and the landmark FTC v. Whole Foods merger enforcement case. Rich also led high-profile FTC investigations that resulted in consent decrees/settlements, including DaVita/Gambro, Thermo Electron/Fisher Scientific, and Agilent/Varian. Rich received several awards during his tenure at the FTC, including the Director’s Award in 2008 and 2010 for exceptional contributions to the Bureau of Competition and the Stephen Nye Award in 2007 for outstanding performance by a junior attorney.